The farmers of Matibhanga union in Pirojpur’s Nazirpur upazila mastered the cultivation of crops like focal varieties of lentils, wheat and sweet potatoes from their forebears. These crops are suited to farmland far from any convenient irrigation source. But profits are modest. Now the introduction of solar-powered irrigation has opened the door to what many farmers believe will be far more lucrative: Boro paddy.

“We never imagined it would be possible to cultivate Boro paddy/ says Md Modasser Ali Mollah, a farmer from Paschim Banian' village. “It's always been difficult to draw water from the canal which is quite a distance away. For us, solar irrigation is a dream."

Throughout Baniary village, Boro paddy sourced from other parts of the upazila has only ever been grown on a small-scale. The cost of water has always been prohibitive.

The first solar panel to power the drawing of water from the nearest canal is already operational, with water transported by pipe to village fields. Farmers are elated. Each will pay a fixed yearly fee for the water pump, and nothing more.

Mehedi Hasan is the project supervisor for Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy, the company behind the initiative. He says the solar panel will draw water from 8:00am until 5:00pm daily, with marginally poorer performance during limes of unfavourable weather.

“The panel has fifty solar plates, each with a 300-watt capacity," he says. "It is designed to work for at least twenty years without maintenance. The motor should last at least ten years."

"It look time for all the possibilities of solar irrigation to sink in/ says local farmer Rezaul Karim. "Now that the project has started there is a lot of interest" Rezaul anticipates the number of farmers choosing Boro paddy will only increase.

"So far around 25 acres have been sown with Boro paddy," says the upazila's sub-assistant agriculture officer, Bijan Krishna Howlader. “Irrigation will be available year-round to grow any crop of their choice."

Assistant Engineer of Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation Jagannath Biswas notes that under the Barishal Division Minor Irrigation Development Project, two such solar projects have already commenced operations in Pirojpur, in Nazirpur and Mathbaria upazilas.